Sanctuary Cities Say They're Past 'Breaking Point'

 by Katie Spence via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Mayors from New York, Chicago, and other large cities are struggling with resources, blaming Texas, as illegal immigrants move in en masse.

Prior to being elected mayor of New York City in 2021, Eric Adams' campaign posted on Twitter, now known as X, "We should protect our immigrants. Period. Yes, New York City will remain a sanctuary city under an Adams administration."

Less than two years later, now-mayor Adams is suggesting the influx of illegal immigrants will "destroy New York City."

"Let me tell you something, New Yorkers. Never in my life have I had a problem that I did not see an ending to. I don't see an ending to this. … This issue will destroy New York City," Mr. Adams said on Sep. 6, during a town hall meeting on the Upper West Side. "We're getting 10,000 migrants a month."

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, began busing illegal immigrants to several large U.S. cities, known as "sanctuary cities," beginning in April 2022 to alleviate border cities in his state. And although only a fraction of the illegal immigrants arriving in New York City are arriving on Mr. Abbott's buses, Mr. Adams has called the program "morally bankrupt."

A jurisdiction is dubbed a sanctuary because it has enacted policies that shield illegal immigrants, including criminals, from federal immigration authorities and deportation.

The cities Mr. Abbott chose as his busing program recipients are among the 10 "largest sanctuary cities in the United States," according to the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR).

As of Sept. 8, Mr. Abbott's office reported it had bused more than 11,300 illegal immigrants to Washington since April 2022; more than 13,500 to New York City and more than 7,000 to Chicago since August 2022; and more than 2,600 to Philadelphia since November 2022.

This year, Texas started busing illegal immigrants to Denver and Los Angeles. Denver has received around 1,100, and Los Angeles around 480.

Border Patrol agents have apprehended 1,973,092 illegal immigrants along the southwest border in the past 11 months, according to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data.

More than 1 million of those crossed into Texas.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (C) is flanked by law enforcement personnel as he issues an executive order to designate Mexican cartels as terrorist organizations, in Midland, Texas, on Sept. 21, 2022. (Texas Governor's Office)

In response to the border surge in 2021, Mr. Abbott launched his Operation Lone Star border security initiative in March 2021. The governor deployed troops from the Texas National Guard and the Texas Department of Public Safety to the southern border, increased funding for border security, designated Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations, and started his busing program the following year.

"The crisis at our southern border continues to escalate because of Biden administration policies that refuse to secure the border and invite illegal immigration," Mr. Abbott said in a press release at the time.

"Texas supports legal immigration but will not be an accomplice to the open border policies that cause, rather than prevent, a humanitarian crisis in our state and endanger the lives of Texans."

Cities Cry Foul

On Aug. 9, Mr. Adams said the influx of illegal immigrants to New York City has led to an "unprecedented state of emergency." The city cited the lack of work authorization as one of the problems with "asylum seekers."

"They do not have the authorization to work, so we have to provide shelter. We have supplied food and access to healthcare. We have enrolled children in schools. We have opened almost 200 emergency sites, including more than a dozen large-scale humanitarian relief centers. And we have assisted migrants with asylum applications," Mr. Adams said

"But we are past our breaking point. … For each family seeking asylum through the city's care, we spend an average of $383 per night to provide shelter, food, medical care, and social services. With more than 57,300 individuals currently in our care, on an average night, it amounts to $9.8 million a day, almost $300 million a month, and nearly $3.6 billion a year," he said.

On May 9, the state's Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency over the influx.

In reaction to Mr. Abbott sending 42 illegal immigrants to Los Angeles on June 14, the Los Angeles City Council on Aug. 30 unanimously approved two motions to file against Mr. Abbott and Texas.

The first motion states, "Investigate and report on whether human trafficking, kidnapping, or any other crime was committed on or before June 14, 2023, when Governor Greg Abbott of Texas sent 42 migrants from McAllen, Texas, to Los Angeles, California."

The second states, "Investigate and begin proceedings on any potential civil legal action that could be taken against the State of Texas, Governor Greg Abbott, or any other entity relating to planning and actions of June 14, 2023. "

Before the vote, LA City Council member Hugo Soto-Martínez stated, "These motions are about investigating whether Gov. Greg Abbott committed kidnapping, human trafficking or any other crimes when he sent vulnerable families on a 23-hour bus ride with little or no food or water.

"The competition between these Republicans about who can be the most racist, I think, is just an utter failure and shows, clearly, that they do not have any intention of governing effectively."

When reached for comment about the motions, the southern border, and illegal immigrants, Josue Marcus, an employee with the LA city clerk's office told The Epoch Times via email that the city clerk's office "cannot comment on these matters."

The LA Mayor's office didn't respond to The Epoch Times' request for comment.

As with New York and LA, the City of Chicago calls itself a "welcoming city" to "asylum seekers."

"We have a responsibility to provide access to shelter, food, and medical care to everyone, regardless of immigration status," the city website states.

"Many of our new arrivals have walked hundreds of miles, navigating great danger through multiple countries in pursuit of safety and opportunity in the United States. We are committed to assisting each family and individual, providing human services with respect and dignity."

However, after receiving about 8,000 illegal immigrants via Mr. Abbott's bus program, then-Democrat mayor Lori Lightfoot pushed back.

"We simply have no more shelters, spaces, or resources to accommodate an increase of individuals at this level," Ms. Lightfoot wrote in a letter to Mr. Abbott.

"Though I am sympathetic to the significant challenges that border cities face, this situation is completely untenable. The national immigration problem will not be solved by passing on the responsibility to other cities."

Mr. Abbott responded to Ms. Lightfoot on May 1, "As the mayor of a self-declared sanctuary city, it is ironic to hear you complain about Chicago's struggle to deal with a few thousand illegal immigrants, which is a fraction of the record-high numbers we deal with in Texas on a regular basis," Mr. Abbott wrote.

"You are right that 'this situation is completely untenable,' but this is not a Texas problem—this is a problem for the entire United States of America. … Until Biden secures the border to stop the inflow of mass migration, Texas will continue this necessary program."

Ms. Lightfoot issued a Declaration of Emergency on May 9.

Neither Chicago's City Council nor the mayor's office responded to The Epoch Times' request for comment.

On Aug. 28, Chicago's new mayor, Brandon Johnson, and Illinois' Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker wrote a letter to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas stating that the City of Chicago had spent over $250 million supporting asylum seekers, and requested DHS to streamline work authorization for "non-citizens."

As with other sanctuary cities, the arrival of buses from Texas to Washington, D.C., met with resistance.

A representative from Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser's office wrote to the Secretary of Defense on July 19, 2022, requesting the assistance of the National Guard to "help prevent a prolonged humanitarian crisis" in the nation's capital.

"The pace of arriving buses and the volume of arrivals have reached tipping points. Our collective response and service efforts have now become overwhelmed: the regional welcome center we helped establish in Montgomery County, Maryland, is at capacity; our homeless services system is already under great strain," the mayor's office wrote, according to an NBC reporter, who posted the letter on X.

"With pledges from Texas and Arizona to continue these abhorrent operations indefinitely, the situation is dire, and we consider this a humanitarian crisis—one that could overwhelm our social support network without immediate and sustained federal intervention."

The Department of Defense declined to provide support. It also declined when Ms. Bowser again requested help on July 22 and Aug. 11, 2022.

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/they-welcomed-illegal-immigrants-open-arms-now-sanctuary-cities-say-theyre-past-breaking

Trump lashes out at interest rates: ‘They’re too high. People can’t buy homes’

 In an upcoming interview on “Meet the Press,” Donald Trump told new host Kristen Welker he thinks current interest rates are too high.

“Right now, interest rates are very high,” Trump said in an interview set to air on Sunday. “They’re too high. People can’t buy homes. They can’t do anything.”

The Federal Reserve raised interest rates to a 22-year high in July in an attempt to fight inflation. It was the Fed’s 11th interest rate hike since March 2022 because of recent inflation issues. 

In the past, Trump has said he would not reappoint Fed chair Jerome Powell. Trump had nominated him for the chair back in 2018, with current President Biden nominating him again for another four-year term after he took office. 

“Well, you know that I put a lot of pressure on him,” Trump told Welker. “It was outside pressure because nobody knows whether or not you can really do that, but I did. Because I thought his interest rates were too high and he ultimately dropped his interest rates.”

Consumer prices rose 3.7 percent over the last 12 months and 0.6 percent last month, according to Consumer Price Index (CPI) data. Despite the rise in August, experts expect the Fed to keep interest rates unchanged. 

https://thehill.com/homenews/sunday-talk-shows/4208224-trump-interest-rates-too-high-people-cant-buy-homes/

NYC response times to fires, medical emergencies soaring — along with fire deaths

 For a second consecutive year, New York City first responders took longer to get to fires and other medical emergencies — and more people died in blazes.

Combined response times by FDNY ambulances and fire companies to “life-threatening medical emergencies” were up 20 seconds on average during the fiscal year ending June 30 –  or 3.5% — to 9 minutes and 50 seconds compared to the previous 12 months, according to the Fiscal 2023 Mayor’s Management Report, released Friday.

Fire deaths involving civilians jumped by 10.8%, from 92 to 102, the report found.

Fire companies responded on average in 9 minutes and 23 seconds while agency ambulances took 10 minutes and 43 seconds — both up from the previous year, the agency said.

The FDNY also noted an uptick in life-threatening medical emergency calls, from 564,412 in fiscal 2022 to 605,140 last fiscal year. 

And overall structural fires also rose 2% over the same period, from 23,387 to 23,901, according to the annual report.

New York City response times to fires and other medical emergencies rose for a second straight year, according to a new report released by Mayor Adams.

Getty Images

“We’re on the brink of costing people’s life if things don’t change,” said Oren Barzilay, president of Local 2507, the union representing more than 4,100 rank-and-file city emergency medical technicians and paramedics.

Barzilay said he didn’t expect much improvement to response times considering the mass influx of migrants and other new residents draining city resources, and City Hall’s anti-car agenda that includes closing off more streets and driving lanes.

“[Unless] the city and state take EMS seriously as an essential service, we’re going to see a total collapse of the system,” he added.

The FDNY is blaming its rising response times to fires and other medical emergencies to more people driving to avoid the using a crime-plagued subway system — and clogging up traffic.

William Farrington

Combined response times by FDNY ambulances and fire companies to “life-threatening medical emergencies” rose 20 seconds during the fiscal year ending June 30 –  or 3.5% — to 9 minutes and 50 seconds.

Christopher Sadowski

James Brosi, president of the FDNY Uniformed Fire Officers Association, blamed the rise in response times on the city’s relentless narrowing of streets and changing of traffic patterns in recent years to slow traffic, coupled with an increase in emergency calls coming in.

“Seconds are critical when people’s lives are at stake,” he said. “With budget cuts looming, we must keep every apparatus in service and staffing levels high, so we can protect the lives and property of the people of New York.”

The Mayor’s Management Report – which outlines the highs and lows of all city agency operations – also notes that response times are 82 seconds – or 16.1% — higher than the 8 minute and 28 second average in fiscal 2019. There were 67 civilian fire deaths that same year, or 52% less than fiscal 2023.

The new numbers even exceed response times from fiscal 2020 when emergency responders were overwhelmed at the start of the pandemic.

The FDNY blamed the increase in deaths on more New Yorkers using lithium-ion batteries to power e-bikes and e-scooters.

Battery fires have surpassed electrical fires at the top cause of deaths the past year, officials said.

The Mayor’s Management Report released by Eric Adams is the first benchmark of his administration’s performance covering a full fiscal year.

Matthew McDermott

And the agency attributed rising response times in part to “higher levels of traffic citywide as a result of changes in travel patterns,” such as more people relying on cars and to avoid the crime-ridden subways.

Major crime also continued to rise during Mayor Eric Adams’ first full fiscal year in office – while NYPD response times slowed across the board, according to the report. 

Adams, a retired NYPD captain who made combating crime the centerpiece of his mayoral campaign, released his first management report last year.

However, the findings of the Fiscal 2022 Mayor’s Management Report were split amongst two administrations: the final six months of ex-Mayor Bill de Blasio’s time in office and the first six of Adams’ current term.

https://nypost.com/2023/09/16/nyc-response-times-to-fires-medical-emergencies-soaring/

Tots hospitalized from possible exposure to fentanyl at NYC day care

 The family of a Bronx 2-year-old left in critical condition after allegedly being possibly exposed to fentanyl at his day care –– where another toddler died and two others were left seriously ill — was reeling Saturday.

“It’s all just too much right now,” said the boy’s devastated mother, whose 8-month-old daughter was also hospitalized after authorities said she was exposed to the deadly drug at the day care.

When the distraught mom sought answers from Divino Nino Day Care owner, Grei Mendez de Ventura, the woman said only, “I don’t know what happened,” the child’s grandmother told The Post.

“So much irresponsibility. They are babies,” the woman, who did not want to give her name, fumed. “It’s her job to care for them, protect them. She needs consequences.”

Nearly a kilo of a drug believed to be fentanyl, and multiple kilo presses, were found inside the day care, sources said.

The drugs were found in the rear of the tiny apartment.

The children are believed to have inhaled the deadly substance.

The family of a Bronx 2-year-old left in critical condition after allegedly being exposed to fentanyl at his day care — where another toddler died and two others were left seriously ill — was reeling Saturday.

Christopher Sadowski

Mendez de Ventura and a man she sublet a room to at the day care, Carlisto Acevedo Brito, have been taken into police custody in the case.

Drug charges are pending and a third suspect is being sought, sources said.

The grandma showed The Post a disturbing photo of her 2-year-old grandson passed out, face up, laying on a playmat on the floor, with his 8-month-old sister passed out in a crib next to him.

The family initially thought the boy had died, she said.

“What? How? Where?” she cried out, after the child’s parents called her.

“It’s all just too much right now,” said the boy’s devastated mother, whose 8-month-old daughter was also hospitalized after authorities said she was exposed to the deadly drug at the day care.

Otoniel Feliz/Instagram

“The daycare,” the kids’ father answered, after seeing his son unconscious and that his daughter “couldn’t breathe,” the grandmother said.

Both were rushed to Montefiore Hospital and administered multiple doses of Narcan.

The boy remains in critical condition and the girl was in stable condition late Saturday afternoon, police said.

Four children were at the day care Friday, she said.

The baby girl is “doing better today, but she’s on a lot of drugs,” the grandmother said, but her brother “is not doing well.”

When the distraught mom sought answers from Divino Nino Day Care owner, Grei Mendez de Ventura, the woman said only, “I don’t know what happened,” the child’s grandmother told The Post.

Christopher Sadowski
Lamented the grandmom of her devastated daughter and her husband: “She’s a good mom. She takes good care of her kids. They have all the love for them,” she said of the couple.

“I can’t believe this happened. I really can’t,” she said, tearing up.

https://nypost.com/2023/09/16/family-of-tots-in-critical-condition-from-alleged-exposure-to-fentanyl-at-nyc-day-care-speaks-out-its-all-just-too-much/